Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Exercise for children--Iowa--Waterloo; Exercise for children--Iowa--Cedar Falls; Day care centers--Iowa--Waterloo; Day care centers--Iowa--Cedar Falls; Day care centers; Exercise for children; Iowa--Cedar Falls; Iowa--Waterloo;

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of childcare centers with differences in outdoor space and play equipment upon the amount of time spent at vigorous physical activity by children. The research questions guiding this research were:

1. Is there a difference among childcare centers in the amount of time spent in vigorous physical activity by preschool age children?

2. Is there any relationship between the amount of time spent in vigorous physical activity at the childcare center and the child's BMI, the time spent outdoors time spent in vigorous physical activity outside the center, parental BMI, and parental physical activity levels?

Four childcare centers were selected for this study. These included the University of Northern Iowa Child Development Center (Center 1) located in Cedar Falls, Grin and Grow Childcare Center (Center 2) located in Waterloo, Lily Ferguson Childcare Center (Center 3) located in Waterloo, and United Community Childcare Centers (Center 4) located in Cedar Falls.

A total of 26 children were used for this study. This included 12 girls and 14 boys. Each child wore a motion sensor to record physical activity and direct observation was used to assess each child while playing outside on the playground.

Results of the ANCOVA show a significant difference was found between centers (F(3,21) = 4.33, p = .016) Center 1 had significantly higher time in vigorous physical activity compared to Centers 2 (t = 3.619, p = .004). No other differences between centers were found. A strong correlation was found between the amount of time spent outside at the center and the amount of time engaged in vigorous physical activity at the center (r = .76). Time spent in vigorous physical activity outside while at the center was significantly related to the amount of time spent in vigorous physical activity at the center (r = .83). Child's BMI, parental BMI, and parental physical activity levels did not correlate with levels of vigorous physical activity.

In conclusion, the center with the greatest amount of time the children spent outside reported the highest amount of time spent in vigorous physical activity. Therefore, even though centers differ with equipment and space on the playground, time spent outdoors seem to influence the amount of time children spent in vigorous physical activity.

Year of Submission

2002

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

First Advisor

Kevin J. Finn

Second Advisor

Ripley Marston

Third Advisor

Charles May

Comments

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Date Original

1991

Object Description

1 PDF file (87 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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